Extreme strategies will sabotage your weight loss
By Mitch Felipe
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:52:00 07/14/2008
Filed Under: Lifestyle & Leisure
MANILA, Philippines—Did you always have a goal to lose weight only to find out that you just keep on repeating the mistakes and have never reached the finish line?
Your weight issues will not be resolved unless you become aware there’s a problem either in your thinking pattern or behavior.
The hardest part in weight management is trying to lose weight moderately, not obsessively or impetuously. Try to apply basic weight management strategies experienced by successful weight losers.
Skipping meals
Try to skip meals to lessen your total calorie intake for the day. Eat breakfast and have something every three to four hours. This will help prevent late-night overeating and guilt feelings.
If a nutritionist requires you to eat a total of 1,800 calories for the day, seek ways to distribute your meals during the day by considering timing and calories per meal. It would also depend on what time you wake up and sleep, your level of hunger and physical activities.
Over-exercising
Some people believe that over-exercising is the best solution to losing weight.
However, this approach results in injuries and exercise burnout. Over-exercise for three to six consecutive months might result in zero physical activities in the next months if not managed in moderation.
Exercise not more than 90 minutes a day. If you don’t have enough time for formal exercise sessions, do a lot of walking. It’s better to work out 60 minutes, three to four times a week and walk for 30 minutes every day, than to exercise for two hours or more every day.
Weight obsession
People who are weight-obsessed tend to do the right strategies, especially when things run smoothly. But when they experience failure, they easily give up and return to old habits. They become susceptible to emotional eating.
Weigh yourself to see the result and progress of what you’re doing. Weight loss is just the result of your eating and exercise behavior.
Develop self-control by staying away from perfectionist goals. Be prepared to experience failures and lapses and recognize that it’s part of the process.
Being super-health conscious
There are those who will eat the healthiest foods available in the market and deprive themselves of the food they love to eat because they believe that to lose weight, you have to eat only what’s healthy.
Whenever I see someone in the gym eating slices of wheat bread with a can of tuna in water every single day, I always wonder how long he can sustain it. This would lead to boredom and result in more cravings during the day.
Get real! You can still eat your favorite food once in a while and still be a healthy person. A recent study shows making your meals tasty by adding calorie-free seasonings and sweeteners can help you lose weight.
Be creative. Think of ways on how to make your favorite dishes nutritious and healthy. I always tell my clients whenever they feel sad about what and how much they are eating, it means they are deprived. They need to change their food plan to suit their lifestyle.
E-mail the author at mitchfelipe@ gmail.com
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